Places with crowded and closed environments such as prisons, nursing homes, and rehabilitation centers are considered high-risk areas for tuberculosis. Health experts say that people over the age of 60 are particularly at risk of tuberculosis.
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Inmates in Dhankuta Prison have been tested for tuberculosis (TB) and HIV/AIDS. Under the organization of the Koshi Province Health Directorate, 185 inmates in the prison were tested for tuberculosis by performing chest X-rays using a state-of-the-art AI technology machine.
Tulsi Prasad Guragain, Tuberculosis and Leprosy Officer of the Provincial Health Directorate, Dhankuta, informed that 10 prisoners showed possible symptoms of tuberculosis during the test. Guragain said that the sputum of the prisoners showing symptoms will be collected and sent to the laboratory for further testing and the necessary treatment process will be initiated immediately.
He said that prisoners who are confirmed to have tuberculosis will be treated free of charge. Places with crowded and closed environments such as prisons, old age homes, and rehabilitation centers are considered high-risk areas for tuberculosis. Health experts say that people over the age of 60 are especially at risk of tuberculosis.
Guragain said that having to stay in one place for a long time, malnutrition, smoking, alcohol consumption, and limited access to health services increase the chances of tuberculosis infection. In the same program, the prisoners were also tested for HIV/AIDS.
The Provincial Health Directorate, Dhankuta, has stated that the HIV report of all the prisoners participating in the test has come out negative. The government has set a target of reducing the number of tuberculosis patients in Nepal to less than 10 per 100,000 by 2035.
Currently, there are 227 tuberculosis patients per 100,000 population in Nepal. To achieve the government's target of reducing tuberculosis, emphasis is being placed on identifying risk groups, early testing, timely treatment and increasing public awareness, said Garagain, a tuberculosis officer at the Provincial Health Directorate, Dhankuta.
